Adding to the problems is that Bell’s diary has never been located, or in fact apparently seen by anyone except Ingram. It can be assumed that when the only primary source material for a story was written more than a quarter century after the events in question, by a person who was only six years old when it happened, that the details are going to be a bit fuzzy. Ingram insisted that much of his information was gleaned from the diary of a son of John Bell, Richard, who wrote about the events in a manuscript titled “My Family’s Troubles,” of the haunting some 24 years after the fact, when he was thirty years of age. I first came across the Bell Witch in high school, from a little red book titled An Authenticated History of the Bell Witch by Martin Van Buren Ingram. But is it a case of a story being told so long that people simply assume it to be true? It’s frequently stated that it’s the only known incident of a ghost legally being responsible for the death of a person, the patriarch of the Bell family, John Bell Sr. The Bell Witch incident is one of the most well-known hauntings in the United States. Reprinted from GOODSPEED.S HISTORY OF TENNESSEE, Originally Published 1886 (The History of Robertson County (with Biographical Appendix) It is merely introduced as an example of superstition, strong in the minds of all but a few in those times, and not yet wholly extinct. That all this actually occurred will not be disputed, nor will a rational explanation be attempted. A volume might be written concerning the performances of this wonderful being, as they are now described by contemporaries and their descendants. ![]() At first it was supposed to be a good spirit, but its subsequent acts, together with the curses with which it supplemented its remarks, proved the contrary. It would take the sugar from the bowls, spill the milk, take the quilts from the beds, slap and pinch the children, and then laugh at the discomfiture of its victims. The freaks it performed were wonderful, and seemingly designed to annoy the family. ![]() It was invisible to the eye, yet it would hold conversation and even shake hands with certain individuals. So great was the excitement that people came from hundreds of miles around to witness the manifestations of what was popularly known as the “Bell Witch.” This witch was supposed to be some spiritual being having the voice and attributes of a woman. Bell Witch Cave and Cabin, Adams, Robertson, TennesseeĪ remarkable occurrence, which attracted wide-spread interest, was connected with the family of John Bell, who settled near what is now Adams Station about 1804.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |